Tag Archives: Security

FBI demands new powers to hack into computers for surveillance

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“Under the proposed amendment, a judge can issue a warrant that would allow the FBI to hack into any computer, no matter where it is located. The change is designed specifically to help federal investigators carry out surveillance on computers that have been ‘anonymized’ – that is, their location has been hidden using tools such as Tor. The techniques involve clandestinely installing malicious software, or malware, onto a computer that in turn allows federal agents effectively to control the machine, downloading all its digital contents, switching its camera or microphone on or off, and even taking over other computers in its network.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/29/fbi-powers-hacking-computers-surveillance

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Forget Alibaba: China’s Growth Story No One’s Talking About

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“U.S. security officials are often unaware of breaches as they occur; and sometimes only detect the hacking weeks, months or even years later… if ever.  In general, TRANSCOM contractors must report cyberattacks to DOD, per a standard clause in all vendor contracts. But according to the SASC report, many contractors are unsure about what cyberintrusions to report, and to whom. That is, each contractor could have a separate ‘stove pipe’ reporting chain, with different rules about who gets a report, and under what circumstances. As U.S. contractors get hacked, it’s becoming crystal clear that the Chinese military is highly proficient and professional in its approach to cyberintrusion.”

http://dailyreckoning.com/forget-alibaba-chinas-growth-story-no-ones-talking-about/

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Tech company finds mysterious fake cell towers in DC area

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“Is somebody hacking into cell phones in the D.C. area? A new investigation is raising concerns this may be happening.  An independent investigation found fake cell phone towers popping up all over the area. The towers are located near the White House, the United States Capitol and the Supreme Court.  It begs the question: Who is behind these towers?  We know that unless you have a special piece of equipment, you would never even know that your phone has connected to one of these so-called ‘non-network towers.’  The federal government will neither confirm nor deny that they use such towers for law enforcement purposes.”

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/26610194/tech-company-finds-mysterious-fake-cell-towers-in-dc-area

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Marriott fined $600K for jamming guests’ Wi-Fi for cybersecurity

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“Marriott agreed to the fine and has instructed its hotels not to use the jamming technology in the way it was used at Opryland, according to the FCC. But the company on Friday defended the blocking of guests’ own Wi-Fi networks in the interest of network security. The company said it is legal to use FCC-approved technology to protect its Wi-Fi service against ‘rogue wireless hotspots that can cause degraded service, insidious cyber-attacks and identity theft,’ adding that hospitals and universities employee similar jamming practices.  At the four Gaylord hotels in the U.S., Marriott today monitors for hotspots causing interference but does not automatically block such connections.”

https://news.yahoo.com/marriott-fined-600-000-jamming-175025789.html

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India ATMs stop sucking in cash after exploit by scammers [2012]

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“RBI in the past one year has come across banks reporting several instances of frauds pertaining to mis-use of cash retraction facility at the ATMs.  The typical modus operandi has been to hold on to a few pieces of notes in ATM machines that have cash retraction system, while allowing one or two pieces of notes to be retracted and then claiming non-receipt of cash.  Since retracted transactions are credited back to the customer’s account, the balance in the fraudster’s account remains unaffected even after collecting bulk of the delivered cash.  The ATMs do not have the capability to count the pieces of retracted notes, thus leaving a loophole for committing such frauds.”

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/bank-atms-stop-sucking-in-cash-after-rbi-direction/1/188335.html

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For sale: Systems to secretly track cellphone users around the globe

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“Makers of surveillance systems are offering governments across the world the ability to track the movements of almost anybody who carries a cellphone, whether they are blocks away or on another continent.  The technology works by exploiting an essential fact of all cellular networks: They must keep detailed, up-to-the-minute records on the locations of their customers to deliver calls and other services to them. Surveillance systems are secretly collecting these records to map people’s travels over days, weeks or longer, according to company marketing documents and experts in surveillance technology.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/for-sale-systems-that-can-secretly-track-where-cellphone-users-go-around-the-globe/2014/08/24/f0700e8a-f003-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html

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Grandmother in violent SWAT raid for neighbor’s wireless internet use

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“The ostensible reason for the raid was that someone had anonymously posted some internet tough-talk on an online discussion forum, and referred to the Evansville police.  The subsequent violence directed at the Milan household was to serve a search warrant to find out who was responsible.  The alleged ‘specific threats’ were posted in a discussion on the topix.com website. One of the posts declared: ‘Cops beware! I’m proud of my country but I hate police of any kind. I have explosives… Made in America. Evansville will feel my pain.’  In response, police packed their own guns and explosives and headed out to raid the owner of the IP address from which the posts had been made.”

http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/louise-milan/

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NSA/GCHQ: The HACIENDA Program for Internet Colonization

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“Since the early days of TCP, port scanning has been used by computer saboteurs to locate vulnerable systems. In a new set of top secret documents seen by Heise, it is revealed that in 2009, the British spy agency GCHQ made port scans a ‘standard tool’ to be applied against entire nations. Twenty-seven countries are listed as targets of the HACIENDA program in the presentation, which comes with a promotional offer: readers desiring to do reconnaissance against another country need simply send an e-mail.  The documents do not spell out details for a review process or the need to justify such an action.”

http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/NSA-GCHQ-The-HACIENDA-Program-for-Internet-Colonization-2292681.html

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4.5 million electronic health records from 20 hospitals compromised

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“Community Health Systems Inc. announced Monday that 4.5 million patients’ non-medical records have been compromised in a cyber attack that occurred over April and June.  Community Health Systems and the cyber security firm Mandiant believe the attacker was an ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’ group originating from China that was able to bypass security measures and successfully copy and transfer data using sophisticated malware and technology.  The data that was compromised includes patient names, addresses, birth dates, telephone numbers, and Social Security numbers. The company has said it would offer identity-theft protection services for those affected.”

http://blog.pennlive.com/tech/2014/08/cyberattack_compromises_45_mil.html

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U.S. traveler finds feds kept a 76-page file on him, including credit cards

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“The 76 new pages of data, covering 2005 through 2013, show that CBP retains massive amounts of data on us when we travel internationally. My own PNRs include not just every mailing address, e-mail, and phone number I’ve ever used; some of them also contain:  The IP address that I used to buy the ticket; My credit card number (in full); The language I used; Notes on my phone calls to airlines, even for something as minor as a seat change.  The breadth of long-term data retention illustrates yet another way that the federal government enforces its post-September 11 ‘collect it all’ mentality.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/ars-editor-learns-feds-have-his-old-ip-addresses-full-credit-card-numbers/

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